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2004K12GT high beam cartridge/holder

I have had this problem before with this assembly but now I am stuck. My bulb went out for the high beam so I changed it. However, this two piece assembly has failed again. The assembly seems to be under-engineered to me.
The bulb fits into a metal cage and then a plastic sleeve slides into the metal cage and supplies a ground for the bulb. There is a lot of pressure from the ground spring on the back of the bulb. The plastic sleeve is held in place by two minuscule plastic bump/ears (which seat against a sharp metal slot) which round off after one bulb changes or so. While on a road trip from FL to PA I had to change the bulb. Well as I inserted the assembly into the headlight housing, I heard a clinking sound. One of those two ears has rounded off, again, and now the assembly is in the housing... Yes... Half-cocked!!! I suppose it will have to be drilled out of there a bit at a time. I have ordered the $21 replacement assembly but I can't get the darned thing out and I don't want to break the ceramic headlight. It is a costly item.
Any advice is welcome! Any alternative improvement is also welcome! Does anyone know of a replacement assembly for this two piece high beam cartridge?

Which K12GT?

Are you sure you posted this in the correct spot?
I've got a K12RS, which I believe has the same headlight system as the 04 GT (with flying brick engine). But your description isn't registering with anything I've dealt with. And I just put a new bulb into my bike.

Originally, I was in agreement with Tony, then I went and looked at the 'fiche' for the headlight. Guess it has been a while since I replaced that bulb. I am assuming that the assembly you refer to is the two pieces that total about $21 or $22 together and are each listed as the Bulb Socket. While I have inadvertantly installed mine at a less than optimum angle, and it stayed, after seeing the pattern was goofed, I was able to easily reposition it. I have replaced mine at least twice and do not recall seeing any diminution of the 'ears'. Though I now recall being concerned about how fragile the ceramic part seemed.
Regardless of my experience, it obvously does not help you. I am thinking that you may be best off removing the entire headlight assembly from the bike. Some DIY guides call for this just to change the bulb. Once the assembly is removed, you may find things are not as bad as you originally thought. It may make it much easier to remove that half-cocked assembly and shake the broken ear out the mounting hole.

2004 k1200gt

Thank you both for your reply. I am pretty sure this should be the forum.

I always remove the headlight assembly from the bike. It's not that much of a chore and my hands are just too big to get into it from the back. I have attached a photo of the assembly for clarification. The black plastic piece has a nub that catches inside of the slot on the metal piece. One of these is the holder (I think it is the metal piece) and the other applies the ground spring to the bulb.

My problem is that one of the two nubs has release inside of the metal holder and is lodged inside of the ceramic headlight body.

I hope the photo comes through. It is the new $21 assembly that I purchased. If I can get the other one out.

Solved

This was resolved by the mechanic at the local dealership.
He did something that i was never going to do. He removed the low beam bulb and went through that hole with a punch. He tapped the assembly until it released and was able to be removed.

Ahhh, the right tool for the job, eh? Like you, I would not have likely attempted that on that expensive glass item, but maybe the mechanic has done something similar before and knew it could be done, or at least that it was worth the gamble....
Either way, glad you got it taken care of!